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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

Cook Anamorphic Lenses & Red S8K Helium Camera

https://www.cookeoptics.com/u/news.html?Open&k=best-in-cinematography-lenses-camerimage-2019

Cooke Optics to Show The Best in Cinematography Lenses at Energa CAMERIMAGE 2019
“Leicester, UK – 29 October 2019 – At the 27th Edition of the International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography (Energa CAMERIMAGE) held in Toruń, Poland from 9-16 November 2019, Cooke Optics will be showcasing the best in cinematography with its latest full frame and prime lenses. This will give cinematographers the opportunity to see for themselves just what is meant by “The Cooke Look®”.

The first of three lenses to be highlighted at Energa CAMERIMAGE will be the new S7/i Full Frame Plus T2.0 prime lenses — available in focal lengths of 16,18, 21, 25, 27, 32, 40, 50, 65, 75, 100, 135mm and 180mm. The S7/i Full Frame Plus features superb optical and mechanical performance, control of flare, distortion, veiling glare and spherical aberrations at full aperture. Its cam-type focus mechanism allows for smooth focus adjustments, while its modular construction increases ease of maintenance and serviceability.

The Anamorphic/i Full Frame Plus T2.3 prime lenses brings full frame capture capabilities to those shooting large format with the anamorphic characteristics cinematographers expect, including flare and oval bokeh. Avaliable in 40, 50, 75 and 100mm focal lengths in both Standard and Special Flare (SF) versions. This initial set of Anamorphic/i Full Frame Plus prime lenses will be joined by the 32, 135 and 180mm later this year. Also highlighted will be the Cooke Panchro/i Classic T2.2 to T3.2 prime lenses, which recreate the same vintage look and feel of the legendary Speed Panchro with the advantage of modern glass mounted for today’s cameras. The Cooke Panchro/i Classic prime lenses are available 12 focal lengths: 18, 21, 25, 27, 32, 40, 50, 65 MACRO, 75, 100, 135 and 152mm.

All Cooke lenses include /i Technology that collects frame-by-frame detailed lens data for production, VFX and post-production teams. The Cooke team will also showcase its lens-agnostic cinematography education channel Cooke Optics TV (www.cookeoptics.tv) alongside #ShotOnCooke (www.shotoncooke.com), a curated visual gallery presenting the best cinematography shot on Cooke lenses from all production genres from all over the world.”

Humberto Rivera
 
In the future, not to long from now! The Motion Picture Distribution Architecture will definitely change. What will be the final Parading? We don’t know, it’s now in a transition, morphing into a new parading that demands its entrance into the “Distribution Chain”, streaming services have access to their audience through various digital means, and digital distribution has made it possible to a connected World. It transcends all political borders. There is a new business model evolving right before our eyes. The key is “watch what you want, when you want” that has familiar ring to it, that’s because it was a familiar line from past television advisements.

I often thought at the time it didn’t make any sense. Now I think it’s a logical conclusion for the “Product”, the Product being a “Motion Picture Film” or “Series”, first you imagine-it, then you figure out how to build it. The distribution Network, it’s always been about “Bandwidth”, it ways been about “Image Resolution” they go hand in hand with each other, as the Image travels through the pipeline to the consumer at Home. The consumer, how do-you reach the Worldwide Consumer with the whole message, maintaining resolution, that’s the key. The Motion Picture Production, in full resolution, now it’s possible with huge computers, at Amazon HQ.

Take two films like “Day for Night” by François Truffaut, released on 14 May 1973 (Cannes), or “Singing in the Rain” by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, released on April 11, 1952 (two most-watch Films for filmmakers), when you see them in the native format, and color, they are spectacular, but they were create long, long ago. What’s preserving the Resolution of this two films; is the Bandwidth of the Motion Pictures Film, now translated to the “Modern Digital Cinema”, with “Improved Bandwidth” bring back the Features in all their glory. Remember Film use to go from Original, to Intermediate all optical, to Release Prints, while Digital Prints go from Originals to release Prints with no apparent loss of resolution because of Digital Cinema’s Properties. We now live in a different world! Remember when you screen the Production onto a screen in a darken room, now you can see-it in the home, with the same resolution, or better.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Day_for_Night_(film)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singin'_in_the_Rain

The evolving Motion Picture Distribution Architecture; “Where is it”? Is right at the home, it’s on the television set, it’s evolving, and catching up with the Big Screen at your local “Theatrical Screening Site”. If you think of the experience off watching a Movie, it’s the Ratio of Screen Size to the distance where you feel comfortable with its size, and the accompanying audio experience. 4K television sets are now common in 65 inches or larger, 8K communality are in the near future, and things are evolving exponentially; “Where did I hear that before”?

So what do you shoot-on for the evolving “Distribution Chain”, I would say, 8K, but that just-me? At the present the only two professional digital cameras capable of shooting 8K 4:4:4 capturing each frame in a bucket, are the Red Digital Cinema Cameras, and the Panavision DLX I and II, both with a Red Digital sensors. Motion Picture Theaters for the most part are 2K, that’s hard to imagine, but true. Home screens are whatever resolution you have at home HD 1080P, 4K or 8K, all far superior to the Theatrical experience, think about that for a minute, and let it sink in. Some say; “But you need that communal experience, watch it with other people, to feel like a community, I say, you can have a communal experience with your friends and family, right at home, right now. One day, there will be 16K television, it inevitable. 16K will surpass all the other viewing methods? Stay tune.

So where are we? The Theatrical Universe is mostly in 2K, with some relative small 4K and IMAX Theaters. Now streaming services which are in abundance with their “watch what you want, when you want” policies. There’s Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, Coming on line this year are Apple and Disney, and who knows who will appear in the future. They are almost all 4K. The consumer numbers usually start about 200,000,000 subscribers out of approximately 6,500,000,000 people in the World, that’s about 0.032% (more or less) of a Worldwide Audience, that number can only go up from there, with the important choice of “what to watch and when to watch” being up to the client when its suites him or her. Not when a theatrical exhibitor that says; “watch now or never”, how many film are currently left out of that equation, many. That’s no longer an option. New distribution models will emerge from obscurity, some unexpected. That will be a boom for the Red Digital Cinema Company.

Apple announced on November First, its new streaming service, for $4.99, it’s a slightly different strategy than the others, so if you have an iPhone, or practically any Apple devices you you’re a build in customer, so that’s about One Billion (underestimation) potential users Worldwide, that a Billion with a “B”. The $4.99 price tag is just about inconsequential the whole marketing strategy. Let’s see how it all works out. We’re in new territory.

Recently HBO Max was announced in Burbank, they will begin to stream in May 2020, I personally don’t see the same kind of enthusiasm for this streaming service as the others, that’s just me, I could be wrong. Disney and Apple will come first. It’s a crowded streaming market you got to grab the consumer by their expectations. HBO Max has a price of $14.99 ($15.00) a month, twice as much as Disney+, and Apple TV+, which cost $6.99 and $4.99 per month, respectively. HBO simply does not have the “Deep Pockets” to compete with the big boys. We’ll see how it works out by December of 2020. It even cost more than Netflix ($12.99) who was first to stream, long ago. Warner Media is not the same league as Amazon, Apple, or Disney, but we’ll see. The horse race has begun, the finish line will not be reached till the end of December 2020. They all do have something in common; “watch what you want, when you want”! In the local Theatre is “watch when we tell you, or not at all”. There is also the made for “insert name of streaming service”, multi-chapter series like; Jack Ryan, Hana, Carnival Row, and others, in four to nine episodes, and they are on-line with all chapters at once.

I remember when I was about five or six years old boy, my grandfather at that time bringing home the latest “Ma and Pa Kettle” film in a 16 mm print to watch at home. There was only the local Paramount Theater where the Hollywood Pictures were screened, Victoria Theater was around the corner, which that screen the serials, and La Luz which screen the Mexican Film and Tarzan with Jonny Weissmuller. This was in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico. We had as option at that time of going to the Theater and screen a 35mm print, or watch-it at home. But those two option where not universally available to everyone, and the quality was not like todays television sets, we had a sheet to watch the Film on the wall. That must have been around 1948 or so. Television did not exist, the only home competitions was the Radio, and they did have the serials on the Radio. I remember having my ears plug right to that magical box at the time.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ma_and_Pa_Kettle
http://donstradley.blogspot.com/2017/01/flash-gordon-conquers-universe-1940.html

Do you think that the Producers of those Film thought that a little boy in Puerto Rico was enjoying the Films at home, growing up in a bilingual family? Watching the Movie Serials around the corner form the Paramount Theater, at the Victoria Theater was enjoying a number of serials that regularly arrived in Puerto Rico. I imagined, that’s why “Flash Gordon” has really lasted well into the modern era in its various incarnations, including “Star Wars” with its latest Production to be released latter this year. Everything changes because of resolution, or bandwidth as the key. Bandwidth in VFX, screening quality, comfortable watching environments, stopping the screening when you want for whatever purposes.

Who knew that little boy went on to become a U.S. Marine during the Vietnam War, after the war he was send to USC Cinema School full time, as a student, still being in the U.S Marine Corps, and eventually was honorably discharged as a Gunnery Sargent, all because he applied serval time to become an Officer in the Marines, and was not accepted for whatever reason. I couldn’t go back to Vietnam because I had Three Purple Hearts, it was a Marine Corps rule. So I got out of the Marines years before my retirement time, and I began my own Motion Picture Film Companies, in Los Angeles, California. There were no more wars in the Marine Corps. I guess live throws different options at you, constantly, at the end, that’s different for everyone’s history. Their stories are what they are, for better or worse, and the chapters continue to change, as you navigate through life.

I now get too watched on Amazon Prime serials like; “Carnival Row, “Jack Ryan” or “Hanna” all original Amazon Prime series. I get to “watch what I want, when I want”, a new paradigm shift that’s continuing to move during the 21 Century! Yesterday like today, only a small portion of the World’s population get to go to the theater to enjoy a Motion Picture Film, however Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, are expanding into more homes around the World. Where some little boy or girl in any country can watched it in a 1080P, or 4K, or 8K Television Screen in the near future, “watch what they want, when they want”! It’s like the viewing environment is already in place in the Home, all we need to do is just add the Motion Picture Film or serials. Just like it was in Puerto Rico back in 1948, at the Paramount and Victoria Theaters.

Humberto Rivera
 
In this article the; “… the RED MONSTRO 8K SENSOR had the best look for the project, with the flexibility, sensitivity and physical size of the camera they needed. The next consideration was the anamorphic lenses — and this would be Bell’s first anamorphic project. Following extensive testing, the anamorphic lens of choice became the Cooke Anamorphic/i primes. “We wanted a great anamorphic cinematic look with the ability to shoot fast, but the lenses also had to be very reliable through varied environmental conditions and have good accuracy for the focus pullers. That may seem like a lot to ask, but the Anamorphic/i just stood out from the rest…” Something to think about”. For all its popularity, once you get beyond all the hype, a combination of the Red 8K MOSTRO and the Cooke Lenses are definitely a combination that’s hard to deal with.

https://www.cookeoptics.com/u/news.html?Open&k=peaky-blinders-cooke-anamorphic

Humberto Rivera
 
The “Commercial Television Model” on how it treats the “viewer”, that model it’s on way OUT into oblivion. Why? Because it does not take into considerations the New Models where Consumers are not taken into careful weighing of the reasons for their value. The broadcast entities whether it be Live Television, Cable, or any kind of program where you say, you must watch when we tell you too, vs. the “watched what you want, when you want”. It’s rather difficult to break with entrench establish models, but competition is doing away with it. New models are emerging on a worldwide basis. Remember the THREE major NETWORKS + PBS, that model is long gone.

The “Major Hollywood Studios” model is in transition to a “Streaming” model. Things are changing right before our very eyes. There is a new model beginning to show its face; 8K resolution with giant home television, 80 inches plus, “watched what you want, when you want” model is on the horizon, we still don’t know exactly what its final shape will be. But it’s coming! It’s not going to be, go down to your neighborhood theater, when we tell you too watch a 2K resolution image on a giant screen. One thing is for sure, 8K Resolution will be what eventually rules the day, so use your Red Digital Cinema 8K VV camera whenever you can, for the future. There is constant clamor for more bandwidth, remember; “Resolution means more Bandwidth”! Then, there is the longer, longer, longer future 16K Model, eventually coming to your future home. The Red Digital Cinema Company are the only 8K with Panavision Cinema Cameras, for the moment with its R3D 4:4:4 Raw Files.

Humberto Rivera
 
The “Red Helium 8K” is one of many Cameras produced by “The Red Digital Company”!

“The Red Helium was the camera choice for the series, which MacEwen praises for its versatility: “The frame rates, resolution and the size mean we can use it as a long lens camera, put it onto small hand-held gimbals or into larger helicopter systems like the GSS/Shotover/GSS. Also we have the ability to use pre roll and so on, which is a huge advantage when trying to film things that may only ever happen once.”

https://www.cookeoptics.com/u/news.html?Open&k=cooke-minis4i-seven-worlds

Humberto Rivera
 
Cooke Optics continues to up-date its line of Anamorphic/i Full Frame and S7/i Full Frame Plus Primes Lenses.

Cooke Optics will be presenting the very latest lenses in its line-up, including the newest Anamorphic/i Full Frame 85mm Macro, on Stand 548 at BSC Expo, which takes place at Battersea Evolution, London, Friday 31st January to Saturday 1st February 2020.

https://www.cookeoptics.com/u/news.html?Open&k=new-anamorphic-i-full-frame-plus-85mm-macro

Both coatings of the Anamorphic/i Full Frame Plus prime lenses, Standard and SF (Special Flair), will be on show. These represent the next logical step in the evolution of filmmaking, when using full frame sensors, producing true front anamorphics characteristics. With the SF’s producing an exaggerated lens flare effect if required by the cinematorgapher. The set includes 32mm, 40mm, 50mm, 75mm, 100mm, 135mm, 180mm and the latest 85mm MACRO. All focal lengths feature a 1.8x squeeze and a T2.3 stop, except for the 85mm MACRO, which is T2.8. Spherical options in the Full Frame field are covered by the S7/i Full Frame Plus Primes. These are designed to cover the emergent full frame cinema camera sensors up to at least the full sensor area of the RED Weapon 8K (46.31mm image circle). As with the Anamorphic/i Full Frame Plus range, the S7/i lenses come equipped with /i Technology for frame-by-frame digital information capture.

Humberto Rivera
 
I got to thinking. What makes a “Movie” look like serious “Motion Picture Production” the kind of Movie that you may want to watch again in the future? For the purposes of this Post we’re going to use the Red 8K Digital MONSTRO VV Camera, or the Panavision Digital Millennium DXL2, and the Cooke Optics S7/i Full Frame Plus Prime Lenses. I know that they are many others combinations, but just for this post.

First the “Aspect Ratio” 2.35:1 to 2.40:1, so let’s say it’s going to be 2.39:1, why? Well because that’s the Aspect Ratio that most of the theaters around the World use to screen Movies on their big screens. Most don’t mean all, you’re absolutely right. That’s why the Cooke S7/i Lenses on the Red MONSTRO 8K VV sensor are ideal for this example. With S7/i’s you can open the Aspect Ratio up to IMAX or 2.1:1 or any combination there off without losing the 2.39:1 Aspect Ratio, all at the same time. It’s true a 2.39:1 aspect ratio would be around 7K not 8K, however expanding the aspect ratio to IMAX would utilize nearly all the Full Frame.

Resolution and Dynamic Range. That’s extremely important to any production, it must look like a Movie; today and tomorrow, and the same Picture must have “legs for the future”. The Cooke S7/i have lots of lenses so you have a choices between; 16 mm,18 mm, 21 mm, 25 mm, 27 mm, 32 mm, 40 mm, 50 mm, 65 mm, 75 mm, 100 mm, 135 mm and the soon to be announced 300 mm, all T2. Depending on your choice, there is number a Focal Lengths in there for you.

So a Motion Picture must last over its 10 year exploitation period, and deal with all the advances that are sure to come to our industry in the near and far future, at least you have; an Aspect Ratio of 2.39:1 for popular distribution, the highest Dynamic Range available today, the highest Resolution that you can find in any camera, the highest quality lenses, room to expand the Aspect Ratio in the sensor to IMAX or 2.1:1. There is also the DSMC2 BRAIN which will eventually become DSMC3 BRAIN at no extra cost. The camera business in a tough business, you’re competing with the legacy of Arriflex for the past 100 years, the continuing emergence of a maturing Japanese camera manufacturing since War World II, and the developing Chinese Industry. In spite of all this The Red Digital Cinema Company just burst on the scene over the last decade or so, and catapulted itself ahead of the pack, because of its R3D Files for each and every frame, it’s that simple. They put their money on what happens at the SENSOR, so they have the advantage of wrapping-it with new technology. It’s a camera made mostly in the USA.

Have you ever seen a “Motion Picture Film” on a “Television Set Full Screen”? There is the loss of the 2.39:1 black screen above and below the image, to one that’s full screen TV, where there is an apparent loss of resolution, making it look more like a “Television Show” rather than a “Movie”. The loss is both real and perceived in your mind. It’s as if the image is sending an unconscious message to your brain, its saying “there something missing here”. Where do-it-go? A film screened on TV with 2.39:1 aspect ratio is sharper, your brain know you’re not seeing the full image as shoot on the TV framing. That apparent loss of resolution is what Cinema is all about. You have to have the resolution reserved to down-sample the image from 8K or so, down to 4K, that’s one of many secrets of watching Cinema on Television. More resolution is always better. So it’s a combination of several brain cues to tell your brain, it’s CINEMA.

So what are some of the clues that make you accept it as CINEMA; Dynamic Range, Resolution, Aspect Ratio, Steady shots, avoiding hand-held shots if possible, with the exception of being shot on a STEADICAM, the choices of lenses for it quality and focal length? There are some of different components for these visual clues, they are not the only ones, you may have others. You can insert your list here, whatever that may be in, your opinion. It’s something to think about. This is a purely a conjectural interpretation of what happens in your brain. It may vary according your brain and the individual life experience’s before watching the Film in either the “Full Theatrical Screen” in your local theater or the Different kinds of Televisions (480i, 720p, 1080p, 1440p, 2K, 4K or 8K, the higher the resolution of the monitor, the better). The higher the resolution and the size of the TV, the closer to cinema you may be, let’s say an 86” television on 4K or 8K monitor. Have you ever watched a Movie shot on Ultra/Super Panavision 70 Film, you get the “Longer Focal Length Effect”, and everything seems as more of a close-up, while letting the background in the frame flourish, because the longer lenses are covering the same territory as the wider lengths in a different film format, such as 35 millimeter vs. the 65mm frame.

A 35 mm film camera might use a 32 mm focal length, while the 65 mm film camera uses a 75 mm focal length to stay within approximately the same field of view. As filmmaker you have to think of all these sensory factors, so your audience does not. You want your audience to concentrate on the story. If you can do a storyboard for the whole film, I suggest do-it, or at least for the important scene, that’s not to say that ALL scenes are important. It’s like the camera in your cell phone, it uses a wide angle lenses with a little tiny sensor, than the 65 mm lenses on a Ultra/Super Panavision 70 Camera (Anamorphic/Spherical) it use of a longer focal lenses. It’s a matter of sensor size, constrained by real world considerations as to its actual size, you cannot have a sensor for 70 mm film, at least not today.

You can use the lenses use for the same effect on a 70 mm film. However you have to adapt to the Image Circle of the lens, Ø 46.31 within a 40.96 mm x 21.60 mm frame size, with an effective pixels rate of 8192 × 4320 resolution when using the Full Frame. Within an acceptable Aspect Ratio for the simultaneous frame expansion to 2.39:1, 2.1:1, or IMAX, and a resolution of a 35.4 megapixels CMOS. If-it-fits within the Image Circle, you’re GOOD. You have to balance one against the other in order get to the “Sweet Spot”. That’s what the Red 8K Digital MONSTRO VV Camera, or the Panavision Digital Millennium DXL2, and the Cooke Optics S7/i Full Frame Plus Prime Lenses do, the “Sweet Spot”.

I would be remised if I did not mentioned such additional thing such as; lighting, camera movement with dollies, camera cranes, or STEADICAM, the depth of a movie set thought the use of VFX to infinity, and so on and on. The importance of a GOOD performance from the actors is essential. Most important, the thing to remember, the more of these subconscious clues you put in your film, the more it will look like a Movie you we may want to watch beyond just that one time. That’s important for that 10 year exploitation window, the more you’re likely to play-it on cable TV well beyond its initial distribution dates, many films do-not, and they do-not have legs into the future. A Motion Picture Production is forever, yes forever! It all starts with the script and how the director interpret-it as it’s adapted to the big screen, is that adaptation that defines the Director’s work. I’s a combination of the written word, mixed with the mental visualization of the Director, and comingled with everyone’s crew contribution, captured by the camera and enhanced with VFX, passed thought the mind of the Director. The actor’s interpretations of the characters. That’s in essence the creation of a motion picture, a collaborative effort. This is just one person OPINION, there are many opinions in the World of Filmmaking.

Humberto Rivera
To be continued ………
 
https://www.cookeoptics.com/u/news.html?Open&k=glow-cooke-anamorphic-prime-zoom

“With the Netflix requirement to shoot in 4K, Teague selected the RED Helium 8K sensor, which he had previously used on the TV series Russian Doll, after also testing the RED Gemini 5K sensor. “Both sensors looked great, but I had a great experience with the Helium on Russian Doll so I decided to stick with it,” he said. Joining three RED Heliums, for traditional double coverage and triple coverage —mostly for the big wrestling performances in the theatre — were a full set of Anamorphic/i 25mm, 32mm, 40mm, 50mm, 65mm MACRO, 75mm, 100mm, 135mm, 180mm and 300mm prime and 35-140mm zoom lenses. Shooting took place at LA Center Studios in Los Angeles for the casino and hotel interiors, with hotel exteriors being shot in Ontario, CA, 35 miles east of downtown Los Angeles. Joining three RED Heliums, for traditional double coverage and triple coverage —mostly for the big wrestling performances in the theatre — were a full set of Anamorphic/i 25mm, 32mm, 40mm, 50mm, 65mm MACRO, 75mm, 100mm, 135mm, 180mm and 300mm prime and 35-140mm zoom lenses. Shooting took place at LA Center Studios in Los Angeles for the casino and hotel interiors, with hotel exteriors being shot in Ontario, CA, 35 miles east of downtown Los Angeles.”

Humberto Rivera
 
Cooke Optics helps update Dark Crystal for Netflix

https://www.cookeoptics.com/u/news.html?Open&k=dark-crystal-netflix

“Leterrier had made a successful proof of concept using a RED DRAGON and asked RED Digital Cinema to design a 1:1 ratio square extraction mode (4320 x 4320) from which to extract (de-squeeze) the anamorphic image created by Cooke Anamorphic/i prime lenses. Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance was shot using five of the specially modified RED DRAGON 4K at 2.2:1 with a Kipper Tie Gold Diffusion OLPF. “Everything becomes a bit sharp with 4K and the filter helped with that,” said Wilson. Cooke Anamorphic/i lenses were chosen for the production for a number of reasons. First, the set was an unusual one. The warehouse ceiling was already fairly low, and with a 4ft rostrum in place to allow the puppeteers to move around the different scenes (all exteriors were also shot inside), the shooting space became even narrower.”

Humberto Rivera
 
“Mark Kermode’s Secrets of Cinema – from Oscar-winning strategies to 007’s debt”
Secrets of Cinema begins at 9pm on Thursday 19 March on BBC4

https://www.theguardian.com/film/20...ecrets-of-cinema-oscar-winners-superhero-hits

“What’s makes a superhero film into a hit? Why are heist movies like musicals? And what really makes a horror film terrifying?”
Here is an interesting 10 part article on Cinema, published by “The Guardian of London” it explores something that’s hard to wrap your hand around; How do you make a “HIT”. Remember Films are forever!

Humberto Rivera
 
Humberto Rivera said:
[...] The Cooke S7/i have lots of lenses so you have a choices between; 16 mm,18 mm, 21 mm, 25 mm, 27 mm, 32 mm, 40 mm, 50 mm, 65 mm, 75 mm, 100 mm, 135 mm and the soon to be announced 300 mm, all T2. [...]
Click to expand...

Holy crow! A 300m T2 Cooke s7/i would be HUGE! I will note for the record that many vendors get wrong the specs of the S4/i 300mm (listing it on their website as T2 instead of T2.8) and at least one vendor gets wrong the aperture of the anamorphic 300mm (listing it as T2.3 instead of T3.5). I'm not saying you are in error about the upcoming announcement, but the badly formatted spec sheet on the Cooke website only lists the 300mm as being T3.3. If they did ultimately ship a 300mm T2, it would be the perfect lens for a museum shot--as the subject!
 
Michael, you may be right, Les Zellan only mentioned a 300 mm lens without any T Stop setting, my bad! The 300 mm T2 lens was my interpretation based on the fact that Cooke would maybe like to keep their entire range of Cooke S7/i lenses at T2. So I guess that we’ll have to wait till the announcement is made, my apologies.

Humberto Rivera
 
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/mar/16/how-coronavirus-affects-film-industry-tell-us

“Work in the film industry? Tell us how coronavirus has affected you"

"Releases are being cancelled, shoots scrapped and ticket sales are in free fall. But what’s the human cost? We want to hear from people on the frontline of the industry. It’s becoming increasingly clear that most sectors have not faced a crisis in modern times remotely on the scale of coronavirus. The threat it poses to most businesses, the people employed by them and the economies propped up by them, it hard to underestimate. Film is no exception. Already, the impact of widespread cinema closures around the globe, combined with endless release and event postponements or cancellations, as well as production mayhem, is estimated to cost the industry more than $20bn. Given that this figure was $5bn a week before, it seems safe to assume it’s at the conservative end."

"We want to hear from people within the industry about how it’s affecting them. From film-makers, cast and crew whose movie was in production or perhaps all set to premiere at SXSW but which may now struggle to see the light of day. From people in streaming services, about how inundated with offers they currently are, and from producers, studios and distributors weighing up the pros and cons of going digital only, pushing back, or clinging on to the original schedule in case things miraculously improve. From festival programmers trying to decide how best to proceed."

"From freelance composers and accent coaches, from caterers and cinematographers, film certificate classifiers, personal publicists and poster designers. We also want to hear from people on the frontline: from ushers and managers of multiplexes and indies, from concession stall owners, cleaners and people working at screening rooms. This doesn’t begin to cover the people affected. So, if you’re one of them, please get in touch and let us know your story and how best we should be covering the place of cinema in this crisis. Drop an email to catherine.shoard@theguardian.com and andrew.pulver@theguardian.com.”

Humberto Rivera
 
“Over one hour everything was cancelled' – how coronavirus devastated the film industry”

https://www.theguardian.com/film/20...-everything-cancelled-coronavirus-impact-film

“From directors to independent cinema owners, freelancers to company owners: people in the film business on their struggles in a time of crisis”

“This time last week, it still seemed feasible the film industry might weather coronavirus. Only a handful of big-name blockbusters had been postponed in the UK and US, Cannes remained bullish and box office numbers weren’t wobbling too much. By Monday, the picture was radically cracked. Ticket sales in those territories were pitiful. Distributors cancelled release after release. Cinema chains started shutting their doors. And, behind the scenes, the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of people were destroyed. We posted a callout on Monday asking for people’s stories; we’ve had hundreds responses, almost all of them full of shock, upset and confusion. The questions left unanswered aren’t just about how to pay the bills; but whether the industry can ever recover, and – as Chinese cinemas nervously start to reopen – how best to try and rebuild.”

Humberto Rivera
 
https://www.theguardian.com/film/20...-still-face-crisis-after-coronavirus-shutdown

“Film crew and cinema staff still face crisis after coronavirus shutdown”

“Freelance and self-employed workers are in ‘precarious financial position’ as many fear they are falling through the cracks”

"Production crew and cinema staff still fear losing their jobs and income despite UK government plans to address loss of income and jobs after the coronavirus pandemic brought the film industry virtually to a standstill. After a national cinema closure came into effect on 17 March, the actions of the UK’s biggest chains, including Cineworld and the Cineworld-owned Picturehouse, sparked widespread protest. Both chains, as well as Odeon and Empire Cinemas, have now said they will furlough employees along the lines of the government’s coronavirus job retention scheme, which offers to cover 80% of employees’ wages. However, Cineworld Action Group, formed of employees in the UK, has said that while they have been told that redundancies were reversed, some employees have not received confirmation that their jobs are protected. “Anxieties are still running high due to the lack of communication and clarity. We hope that Cineworld will apologise to all staff for the way we were treated and that they will top up the remaining 20% of our wages.”

Humberto Rivera
 
……… Continued from Post # 227

What does the Director do, exactly what? We previously said in post #227; “A Motion Picture Production is forever, yes forever! It all starts with the script and how the director interpret-it as it’s adapted to the screen, is that adaptation that defines the Director’s work. I’s a combination of the written word, mixed with the mental visualization of the Director, and comingled with everyone’s crew contribution, captured by the camera and enhanced with VFX, passed thought the mind of the Director. The actor’s interpretations of the characters. That’s in essence the creation of a motion picture, a collaborative effort. This is just one person OPINION, there are many opinions in the World of Filmmaking.”

The Director must SIMULTANEOUSLY do everything with everyone, the Actors at the first Cold Reading of the Script and subsequent rehearsals, the Director of Photography, script notations with the Script Supervisor, the Production Designer, the Costume Designer, Make Up, the VFX folks, with EVERYONE SIMULTANEOUSLY. There are endless meetings, test, and planning till the first day of Production, all of that has to be continually shaped though the mind of the director. It’s as if the director’s brain is an actual piece of equipment that’s ever present, a very important part of the production, he must continue to write everting that passes through his brain (or the note taker), draws on his memories, experiences, and the collective contribution of all on the production. Collectively a Motion Picture Film draws on the creative talents of Actors, Director of Photography, Composers, Dancers, and Writers, everyone you can think of.

So what is-it about Film School that makes it one of the ideal places to attend on the way to becoming a filmmaker, it’s not the only way, but definitely one of the ways. What’s another way; make a film, watched a lot of films from differently places, watch them more than once, the second time you tend to see more than the first time. Write notes to yourself about the films. So what are you after? What are you looking for? You’re looking for a way get sensitize all the information into an abstract concept in your mind that has to translate into visual images on the screen. That’s a mouthful! How do you do that? Where does that transformation occur?

You have to convey whatever is on you mind to the actors, so they can project feelings and actions trough their own interpretations. You have to articulate that image in your mind into clear instructions to the writers in cinematic terms, to the director of photography in visual terms, the lighting crew, and everyone down the line right down to the though the editing and visualization phase. It’s really a big job. You have to constantly be willing to change your “mental image” here and there according to the feedback from everyone, but at the same time be assertive enough, that you have the last word. You have to keep everyone happy so you get their best work. A good interpretation this can be found in the film “Day for Night” by French Director, François Truffaut.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Day_for_Night_(film)

I affectionately remember, Lester Novros, a professor at USC Cinema and mentor, which no one understood, but we were told “one day in the future you will understand”, and sure enough that day eventually came, “the lights in my brain was tuned on bright”. It was part of the process of abstract thinking, you did it without knowing why, till it became clear why. Lester was a genius; “Former student and friend George Lucas penned these words for the introduction of the manuscript: "The first time I truly understood the unique quality of film was when I took Les Novros' class. Stressing that film is a kinetic medium, Les has kept the Eisenstienian flame burning at USC, and it is a tradition that has strongly influenced my work."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lester_Novros

There was a book in Lester Novros class, mine was a blank 17” X 26” artist sketched book, we all began the notebook at the begging of the class and finished it by the end. I kept mine for 30 years after attending USC Cinema, and I consulted-it once in a while for that period of time. The notebook was composed of various images taken from magazines and other image based reservoirs; there where cutouts of abstract drawings in colors, tones, and shapes; and various kinds of kinetic images samples from different illustrations. All told my book was about 60 pages on both sides. I still remember an image of a winter scene, a horseman framed through the barn doors of a snowy Western setting. I know that my-not-seem like much, but each image that we chose was an unexplained scene for later use, and the totality of the notebook had a particular sensory reminded to each one of us. I can’t explain it, not here, I would have to really think hard and long about it before I found the words, if at all. But it was truly inspirational for each one of us, it kinetic abstract interpretation brought to the forth-front to our thinking at that time. The book was the culmination of abstract thinking through mine eyes, each book was different, according to its author.

What is a “Kinetic medium”? It implies the visual of the communications of movement through various indicators that solicits the moments in your mind. Cinema. A kinetic abstract interpretation of the past, in the present going through you brain? It was if-as the abstract images in our books served as a way of being a carrier for that time when you needed to dig down in your mind, to excavate your intelligence for a solution that was there but not visible. It was bit foggy. You needed to find-it and bring it forth for the moment, a moment that could be any time needed. It was swoosh motion, it was a series of fast cuts, it was complex dolly shot, it was an aerial shot that began on a flat car on a train and lifted up in a helicopter to reveal the train moving across the plain. You get the idea.

I remember when I was in the U.S. Marine Corps, (early 1970’s) sitting at home at my desk filling a reporter’s notebook at night (no computers or cellular phones existed then) with the notes for next day’s shooting, and then sitting at the same desk early in the morning before my daughter went off to school, going over the same notes before heading off for the USMC East Coast Motion Production Unit in Quantico, Virginia, we all got to start somewhere, that’s after attending the USC Cinema School (that’s what it was called then, in the early 1970’s). I remember Lester Novros saying in his abstract sort of way during his "Filmic Expression" class, something that trigger a thought that brought forth everything that lay dormant deep in my mind. Suddenly a connection was made between my notebook, my thoughts at the time, and what I was about to do for the day. Wow, Shazam, holy cow! I was that kind of moment. Here are some recommended Wikipedia reference for those of you that might be interested in exploring the subject.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Name_Above_the_Title by https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Capra
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Day_for_Night_(film)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizen_Kane
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singin'_in_the_Rain
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casablanca_(film)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergei_Eisenstein and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battleship_Potemkin

So I leave you with this thought. We’re are all different, we have different backgrounds and interest. But we have one thing in common, we like to make Motion Pictures, Films, Cinema, whatever we chose to call it, we love filmmaking. We’ve seen the Motion Picture Filmmaking go through different changes over the years, from “Old Yellow Box” to “Digital Cinema” but it’s about the abstract content that makes filmmakers be the interpreters that create Cinema for the audience. I’m still unable to decide which one is better, between a “Super Panavision 70” image, or “Digital Cinema” image. A Motion Picture is forever, so do a good job, for better or worst your name will be attached to any film you worked-on forever. I remember over the years in the box that says occupation as you cross international borders always putting down on any Countries Custom’s Form; FILMMAKER for the last 50 years or so, before that it was U.S. Marine. That’s my opinion.

Humberto Rivera
 
New Cooke Lenses

https://www.cookeoptics.com/u/news.html?Open&k=new-s7i-300-anamorphic-ffp-180

“Cooke Optics announces new focal lengths for S7/i and Anamorphic/i Full Frame Plus ranges”

”Cooke continues to grow their S7/i range with the introduction of the 300mm S7/i as well as their Anamorphic/i Full Frame Plus range with the new 180mm. In addition, Cooke is announcing a new branch of the S7/i family by introducing three 1:1 macro Full Frame Plus lenses: 60mm, 90mm and 150mm. All lenses are designed from the ground up, as real motion picture lenses. The webinar also provided an opportunity to discuss the latest developments for the /i Technology lens metadata standard, including the most recent productions that have benefited from utilising the technology, and updates on the Cooke Optics TV educational channel and the ShotOnCooke curated motion gallery. Les Zellan, Chairman, Cooke Optics, said, “We’re disappointed that we are unable to see many of our international friends at NAB this year, but this webinar gave people the opportunity to hear more about the new lenses, find out what else we are working on including Cooke Optics TV and #ShotOnCooke, and ask the questions that they would have been able to discuss on the stand.”

Humberto Rivera
 
The Cooke S7/i are shaping-up to be a rather compete set of Full Frame Lenses from the full range of 14 spherical lenses; 16 mm, 18 mm, 21 mm, 25 mm, 27 mm, 32 mm, 40 mm, 50 mm, 65 mm, 75 mm, 100 mm, 135mm, 180 mm, and 300 mm. Now with three Macro lenses 60 mm, 90 mm, and 150 mm. Well there’re definitely a well-rounded set of lenses. Well suited for the Red 8K MONSTRO Camera, a hard combination to beat.

https://www.fdtimes.com/2020/04/25/cooke-s7-i-ff-60-90-150-mm-macro-11/

“Cooke S7/i FF+ 60, 90, 150 mm Macro 1:1”

“We are introducing a new branch of the S7/i family—the 60mm, 90mm and 150mm 1:1 Full Frame Macro lenses,” Les Zellan said in our interview at the factory. He continued, “Most of our lenses have an MOD (Mininum Object Distance) of roughly 10 times the focal length. Over the years, we’ve been asked to do macro lenses and we’ve done it with the Panchro Classic 65mm and the Anamorphic 65mm and now the Full Frame Anamorphic 85m. “The new 60, 90 and 150 mm S7/i Full Frame Macros include /i lens metadata, which we’re very proud of.” By the way, 1:1 Magnification in a Macro means you can focus down to fill the frame with an object that is 36×24 mm or 40 x 20mm actual size.”

Humberto Rivera
 
New Cooke Lenses for 2020

https://www.cinema5d.com/cooke-lenses-interview-about-new-lenses-and-cooke-look/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=113&v=rq4XRvMHibo&feature=emb_logo

For this year’s NAB which never happened, Cooke introduced five new lenses – four spherical and one anamorphic. The new spherical lenses include:

• Cooke S7/i FF+ 300mm T3.3 prime which extends the S7/i FF+ lens set on the long focal length side.
• Cooke S7/i FF+ 1:1 MACRO 60mm T2.5 lens
• Cooke S7/i FF+ 1:1 MACRO 90mm T2.5 lens
• Cooke S7/i FF+ 1:1 MACRO 150mm T2.5 lens

The anamorphic lens lineup grew with the new 180mm T2.3 1.8X Macro Anamorphic Lens.

Cooke Look Stays Premium

“Cooke’s lenses have always been a synonym for premium high-end cinema productions. Their lineup is mostly aimed at rental houses as the cost of a Cooke lens set usually is well beyond what a camera owner/operator can afford. The most affordable line of cinema prime lenses that the company offers is the Cooke Mini S4 (at around $7,300 per piece). Les told us that Cooke is not planning on releasing a more affordable line of lenses. Unlike some of their competitors, they will not go the path of rehousing stills lenses. According to Les, the Cooke look is a set of specifications that gives their optical designers a box to work in. They have to find the new design within those parameters so that the lens has that unique look. If you want to examine the unique “Cooke Look”, you can check out “Shot on Cooke” which is a kind of online library showcasing videos shot on Cooke lenses. There are also lots of useful technical information with each video. Do you have experience shooting with Cooke lenses? Do you like the Cooke Look? Let us know in the comments underneath the article.”

Humberto Rivera
 
Lost in Space finds contrast in the darkness with Cooke 5/i Lenses

https://www.cookeoptics.com/u/news.html?Open&k=lost-in-space-5i

“We chose a 2.20:1 aspect ratio so we could hold more of the family in group shots within the same frame, without having to cut between them,” said McCurdy. “This also gave us a much greater landscape to view, so it immediately provided a more cinematic language and a broader scope to play with.” McCurdy shot the first season with RED HELIUM cameras and Leica Summilux C lenses, but changed to a combination of RED MONSTRO cameras with Cooke 5/i lenses for Season 2. “I’ve always been a fan of RED. I have stood by them since the first incarnation of the RED ONE and for me sensors are like film stocks - you just want to find the right stock (sensor) for the right project. So, we tested the MONSTRO sensor and, as I expected, it was perfect for Lost in Space. It gave us a lot more flexibility than many other sensors would have afforded us,” he explained. “As for lenses, in Season 1 I found that in the final colour correction, the blacks were a little too severe for me – it was purely a personal aesthetic, but I couldn't maintain the shadow lift that I’d seen on set when it came to the final HDR grade.”

Humberto Rivera
 
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